One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Somerset you can determine when it's a good idea to plant potatos by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Potatos

Frost tolerance for potatos:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since potatos do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant potatos in Somerset is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant potatos and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your potatos may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your potatos indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Somerset. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Somerset and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Somerset you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your potatos if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Somerset

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Somerset

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Somerset.